Not an acquisition but a “merger of equals.” That’s how Caladrius Biosciences and Cend Therapeutics have described their transformation into the newly christened Lisata Therapeutics.
The all-stock transaction—which is expected to close in the third quarter—values each company at $90 million. This represents a 136% premium to Caladrius’ stock as of market close April 26, the companies said in an April 27 announcement.
David Mazzo, Ph.D., current president and CEO of Caladrius, will become CEO of Lisata. He will be joined by David Slack, current president and CEO of Cend, as the new company’s president and chief business officer, while Kristen Buck, M.D., current executive vice president of R&D and chief medical officer at Caladrius, will continue in the same role at Lisata.
The new company will advance Cend’s CEND-1 as its lead product candidate in a variety of difficult-to-treat solid tumor applications, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), where the product is being evaluated in ongoing phase 1 and 2 clinical studies with Cend’s Chinese partner Qilu Pharmaceutical. Trial data readout is expected in 2023.
CEND-1 is a proprietary cyclic peptide that undergoes a process called protease-mediated cleavage in the tumor, producing a C-end Rule or “CendR” peptide that enables transport across the tumor stroma and improves delivery of anticancer drugs.
Lisata also plans to initiate an additional PDAC trial for the drug in combination with immunotherapy as well as a study exploring applications in other difficult-to-treat solid tumors, such as hepatocellular, gastric and breast cancers along with additional therapeutic combinations.